JHU Celebrates Diwali 2024 with GKII's Kunal Pal

On Saturday, Nov. 2nd, 2024, over a thousand students from the Johns Hopkins community came together to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.  

Diwali, or Deepavali, is one of the biggest and most important holidays of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that are lit outside homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. Where there are many mythological interpretations of this festival, there’s one common theme that unites all who celebrate the victory of good over evil. Celebrated in India and across the world, Diwali marks the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. In households across the world, lamps are lit to mark this auspicious festival.

The Homewood Diwali celebration is the largest student-run campus event of the 2024, organised by the Hindu Students Council, a student-run Religious and Spiritual Life club on campus. The event was held at the Ralph S O’Connnor Recreation Center.  

Thus year’s event began with an aarthi, especially dedicated to Lord Rāma, to celebrate his return to the Kingdom of Ayodhya. Thereafter, the event featured music, food and dance including contemporary Bollywood music and classical dance forms. Delicious Indian snacks including samosas, pakoras, mango lassi and gulab jamoons were also served during the celebration.

We were honoured to invite Kunal Pal, Executive Director of GKII for this event, where he shared his thoughts on student engagement with the Johns Hopkins India-interest community.

The Indian community and diaspora on campus remain grateful for this heightened sense of culture on campus. This has truly made JHU home. 

Happy Diwali to everyone!